If you’re looking to leave California is Washington the right place to call home?
Washington state is among the top five most popular states Californians relocate to. In fact, between August 2017 and July 2018, the population of CA has decreased by 138,000 with 55,467 people moving to Washington state. If you are also thinking about moving from California to Washington State you’ve probably already started considering some of the pros and cons. A large portion of my extended family have made this move in recent years. So in this video I’m going to share with you some things I learned as I debated on joining them or not.
So why are some Californians choosing Washington for their new home?
It’s will be no surprise that California’s High cost of living, traffic, and taxes are a few of the main reasons. California is an expensive place to live and affordable housing is one of the benefits of moving to Washington State.
Another perk to living in Washington state is there is no income tax. So on top of the median price of a home being $750K less in Vancouver Washington, you also get to save on your income tax.
So what’s is Washington like?
I was recently in Washington state for a family wedding. The wedding was Ridgefield, WA. We flew into Portland airport and stayed right along the Columbia River in Washougal WA, where some of my family now lives. Portland Oregon is just over the bridge from Vancouver WA and a side note to those thinking of making a move, living near the Washington Oregon border has some extra financial perks. You can save on income tax living in Washington and shop over the bridge in Oregon where there is no sales tax. Savings could add up on any larger items you might buy.
Okay, so as we drove over the bridge headed into Washington it struck me how green everything is in Washington. Beautiful large trees everywhere. As we headed east along the Columbia river toward Camas and Washougal the view of Mount Hood was amazing.
Being in town for a wedding we didn’t have a lot of time for sightseeing, but the place we were staying was right on the river so we did get to walk on the trails and go down to the river area. The signs along the paths guided you to both downtown Camas and Washougal. Next time we go back I’m definitely saving time to go check both of those out.
It should be no surprise that the weather is cooler and there is more rain in Washington. Western Washington weather is more mild than eastern. Still summer days rarely reach 80 degrees and winters don’t often go below 45 during the day. It does snow sometimes, but it’s rare and usually doesn’t last too long.
There’s a high chance of rain October through March. December and January typically see the most rain. So if you’re planning a visit and aren’t a fan of wet weather avoid Washington in December and January. July is the driest, sunniest, and warmest month of the year.
According to the BestPlaces Cost of Living Index, with the U.S. average being 100, Vancouver has a cost of living score of 114.3. The median household income in Vancouver is $80,500. Occupations in the arts, health, science, law enforcement, farming, fishing and forestry yield higher salaries in Vancouver compared to the rest of the country. Unemployment in Vancouver is .5% lower than the national average.